Kevin McCloud, the host of Grand Designs, has stated that he was reported to the Metropolitan Police.
Kevin Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Mary Portas’ new series, The Great Climate Fight, aims to jumpstart genuine change by highlighting the practical actions that governments and large business can take to eradicate carbon emissions.
They will push for practical changes in important sectors such as energy and housing, guided by some of the world’s most recognised climate experts.
However, preparations went bad when they attempted to persuade a government minister to listen to their complaints about housing conditions.
Kevin was on his way to a book launch for Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove when he was informed that he had been reported to the authorities, according to a snippet from the forthcoming premiere episode.
‘I’m going to this event in Westminster,’ he said to the camera while sitting in the back of a cab.
‘It’s a book launch with Michael Gove and with MPs. It’s because he refuses to meet or answer any questions.
‘But then I got this email from the organisers of the event.’
Reading the message, Kevin explained how, despite having paid a ticket, he would be denied access because there was ‘no record’ of him working as a freelancer for Channel 4.
‘I have cancelled your ticket,’ he read out, pulling his glasses off in shock.
‘Not only has he cancelled my ticket, he’s also [told me he’s] reported me to the Metropolitan Police.’
Clearly confused, Kevin exclaimed: ‘For what? For impersonation…of myself?’
However, he then added that a ‘proper check’ had resulted in the cancellation being revoked, and that he now had his press card to display at the entrance just in case.
‘I mean for god’s sake. I just want to ask somebody some questions,’ he continued.
Kevin then explained he wanted to try and get the MP to agree to a proper meeting with him and also urge him to ‘immediately lift the blocker on local councils setting their own housing standards’.
‘All it takes is a word from him,’ he adds.
After seeing Gove speak at the event, Kevin submitted his question and later ‘lurked outside’ to corroborate the MP’s assurance that they would meet later.
When the time arrived, however, their arranged interview ‘evaporated into thin air’ and was cancelled.
‘I found it so frustrating because surely Ministers ought to be prepared to answer questions of national and public importance about the policies they are responsible for,’ Kevin explained.
In the series, the three presenters pursue cabinet members who are unwilling to see them and take their fight to the radios and streets, as well as companies and communities that claim that existing rules and regulations are preventing them from getting greener.
In the first of two episodes, Mary takes on government subsidies to the oil and gas sector, Kevin wonders why British homes are so outrageously costly to heat, and Hugh insists that we stop restricting the UK’s cheapest type of energy: onshore wind.
The Great Climate Fight airs tonight at 9.15pm on Channel 4.
